Category Archives: US News

Watchdog groups urge Senate to investigate Samuel Alito over oil stock conflicts

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Groups say supreme court justice, who owns oil stocks, may be violating ethics codes by participating in certain cases

The supreme court justice Samuel Alito, who owns stock in oil companies, may be violating court ethics codes by participating in certain cases that could benefit big oil, government watchdog groups say.

In a Thursday letter, a coalition of watchdog organizations called on the Senate judiciary committee to investigate Alito, the sole supreme court justice with holdings in energy companies.

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UN pleads for Equatorial Guinea not to send US asylum seekers to their home countries: ‘Their life would be in danger’

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Human rights experts make rare public appeal as US deportees describe being held in ‘prison-like’ conditions

Human rights experts at the United Nations issued a rare public appeal to Equatorial Guinea, urging the central African country to halt its plans to return US deportees to their home countries, where they face political violence, torture and death.

The statement, co-signed by a representative of the African Commission on Human and People’s Rights, adds diplomatic pressure on Equatorial Guinea, one of the world’s most repressive regimes, to comply with international human rights standards and avoid refoulement, or the expulsion of people to countries where they face persecution.

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Trump-Xi summit live: US president preparing to meet China’s leader with trade, Taiwan and the Iran war set to dominate talks

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Ahead of the crucial talks, security has been heightened in Beijing, with the US president set to meet Xi at the Great Hall of the People

I’m now sitting in the press filing centre at the China World Hotel in Beijing. Two American flags and a wooden lectern bearing a “United States embassy Beijing” seal stand on a black podium against a black curtain beneath a giant crystal chandelier.

There are TVs on either side of the podium: one showing CNN, the other Fox News. Sadly, that is as close as many reporters will get to seeing Xi Jinping and Donald Trump in action today.

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Nebraska Democratic Senate primary winner says she’ll drop out to support independent in general election

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Cindy Burbank, who bested an alleged Republican plant, plans to step aside for Dan Osborn in general election

A Democratic challenger who said she intends to drop out of November’s race for the US Senate in Nebraska to clear the way for an independent candidate has won the state’s Democratic primary.

Cindy Burbank ran against William Forbes, who Democrats contended was a Republican plant in the race, with the intent to drop out if she won. Forbes, a pastor who has voted for Trump and opposed abortion access, is currently registered as a Democrat.

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Remains of second US soldier who went missing during military exercises in Morocco have been recovered

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Mariyah Symone Collington and Kendrick Lamont Key Jr, who also died, had fallen off a cliff during an off-duty hike

The remains of the second US army soldier who went missing during military exercises in Morocco have been recovered, the army said on Wednesday, ending a multinational search operation that deployed air, naval and artificial intelligence assets.

The soldier was identified as Spc Mariyah Symone Collington of Taveres, Florida, the US Army Europe and Africa said in a statement. She was 19 years old.

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Howard Lutnick said he had three ‘inconsequential’ meetings with Epstein

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In House committee transcript, commerce secretary denied any further contact with disgraced financier

The US commerce secretary, Howard Lutnick, told lawmakers in a closed-door interview earlier this month that he met Jeffrey Epstein only three times and had no “personal or professional relationship” with the disgraced financier, according to a newly released transcript of the meeting.

“I unequivocally condemn the conduct attributed to Jeffrey Epstein and everyone who participated in his illegal activities,” Lutnick said in his opening statement before the House oversight and reform committee.

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Influencer detained in Tennessee over alleged confrontation involving gunfire

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Dalton Eatherly, 28, known as Chud the Builder, accused of firing at another man outside courthouse in Clarksville

An influencer has been detained in Tennessee following his alleged involvement in a shooting, according to local police.

On Wednesday afternoon, Dalton Eatherly, 28 – known online as Chud the Builder – was involved in a confrontation with another man outside the Montgomery county courthouse in Clarksville, Tennessee, during which shots were fired, the office of the district attorney general said in a statement.

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Cartel corruption claims push US-Mexico relations to breaking point

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With Mexico under pressure from Trump to tackle drug trafficking groups, analysts say ‘it’s the most tense situation since the 1980s’

Relations between Mexico and the United States are being pushed to breaking point amid accusations by Washington that Mexican officials have been “in bed for years” with drug traffickers, and reports of CIA agents freely operating south of the border.

“There are many who are betting on the defeat and failure of the Mexican government,” said Claudia Sheinbaum tersely on Wednesday, when asked about the allegations at a news conference. ”We want a good relationship with the United States government. What are our limits? The defence of sovereignty and respect for the Mexican people and their dignity.”

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JD Vance threatens health funding to states that don’t comply with White House anti-fraud effort

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Medicare has already paused hospice and home healthcare agency signups as potential fraud is investigated

JD Vance has threatened to “turn off” federal funding for government health insurance programs in states that refuse to comply with the Trump administration’s crackdown on suspected fraud.

States which fail to “get serious” about fraud would lose Medicaid and Medicare funding, the US vice-president announced on Wednesday, sparking fresh accusations that Trump officials are using unfounded allegations to punish political rivals.

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US man accused of killing rock singer in 1993 arrested after decades on the run

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Richard Werstine, wanted in connection with killing of Cold as Life vocalist Rodney Barger, was arrested in Panama

A suspect accused of murdering his rock singer friend in 1993 has been apprehended in Central America after spending more than 30 years successfully evading authorities.

According to the US Marshals Service, Richard Werstine, who was wanted in connection with the killing of Cold as Life vocalist Rodney Barger, was arrested in Panama.

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Scepticism and tight security as Trump is welcomed by Xi to Beijing

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US’s apparent decline has fuelled growing Chinese nationalism while US president has lost his novelty value

Yaoji Chaogan, a no-frills canteen next to Beijing’s historic Drum and Bell towers, once proudly displayed photographs of Joe Biden, who visited the restaurant when he was US vice-president in 2011. Biden’s visit went viral in China, with media praising his “noodle diplomacy” (one of the dishes that Biden ordered was zhajiang mian, a traditional style of Beijing noodles with bean paste).

But evidence of Biden’s visit was removed when the restaurant was redecorated a few years ago. A visit from a US leader is no longer something to boast about.

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1MDB financier Jho Low seeks pardon from Donald Trump

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Fugitive faces charges including corruption and money laundering in US and Malaysia for role he allegedly played in scandal

The fugitive Malaysian financier Jho Low, a central figure in the multibillion-dollar scandal at the state fund 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB), is reportedly seeking a pardon from the US president, Donald Trump.

Low faces multiple charges including corruption and money laundering in the US and Malaysia for the important role he allegedly played in the misappropriation of at least $4.5bn (£3.3bn) from 1MDB.

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Trump’s rollback of toxic gas rules limits EPA’s authority to protect public health, analysis says

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Ethylene oxide (EtO) is about 60 times more carcinogenic than believed in 2006, research finds

A new Trump administration plan to rescind 2024 regulations for toxic ethylene oxide (EtO) pollution more broadly aims to limit the Environmental Protection Agency’s authority to strengthen public health protections around hazardous emissions and could result in more of the toxin being released into the air.

Recent research has found EtO is about 60 times more carcinogenic than thought when the last regulations were developed in 2006. In 2024, the Biden EPA passed a rule that strengthened the regulations to reflect the updated science, and required the nation’s EtO emitters to collectively cut their emissions by about 90%.

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‘I’m afraid if she gets out’: US author’s sons say they want mother to stay in jail

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Kouri Richins, 35, faces up to life in prison for killing her husband, and her three sons say they are ‘afraid’ of her

The young sons of Kouri Richins, a Utah author, said ahead of her sentencing hearing Wednesday that they would feel unsafe if their mother was ever released from prison after she was found guilty in March of killing their father.

Richins, 35, faces several decades to life in prison on five felony convictions, including aggravated murder.

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Middle East crisis live: Iran could enrich uranium to weapons grade if attacked, senior lawmaker warns

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Ebrahim Rezaei says in social media post that the country could enrich its stocks of uranium to 90% and will review such a move in parliament

Iran has expanded its definition of the strait of Hormuz into a “vast operational area” far wider than before the war, according to a senior officer in the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) Navy in comments likely to anger the US.

The strait is no longer viewed as a narrow stretch around a handful of islands but instead has been greatly enlarged in scope and military significance, according to Mohammad Akbarzadeh, deputy political director of the IRGC Navy, the state-affiliated Fars news agency reported this morning.

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US workers overwhelmingly support union-backed policies on AI, poll says

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Nine out of 10 workers express support for policies on artificial intelligence that labor unions may fight for

US workers overwhelmingly support pro-worker policies on artificial intelligence (AI) and view labor unions as the most reliable protectors of workers from the effects of AI, according to a new poll released by the AFL-CIO, the largest federation of labor unions in the US.

More than nine out of 10 workers surveyed expressed support for policies on artificial intelligence that labor unions may fight for, including 95% supporting a requirement that a human be the final decision maker on any issues affecting individual workers and their employment.

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Buyers of Liza Minnelli memoir claim it was not signed by hand

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Premium editions of Kids, Wait Till You Hear This! cost up to $250 but some say signatures are unnaturally identical

Liza Minnelli fans who bought signed copies of her memoir are seeking refunds because they believe her signature is fake.

Copies of Kids, Wait Till You Hear This! by the American 80-year-old singer were marketed around the world as “hand-signed collectibles”, with premium editions costing up to $250 (£185).

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Trump heads to China to spread the gospel of American tech while emulating Xi Jinping on AI

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Tim Cook and Elon Musk, among other tech CEOS, will accompany the US president on a trip to China

Donald Trump is heading to China this week. If his guest list is any clue, he wants to discuss technology with Xi Jinping, though perhaps after the war in Iran.

On Monday, news broke that outgoing Apple CEO, Tim Cook, as well as SpaceX and Tesla CEO, Elon Musk, would join the US president. Other guests from the tech sphere include Meta’s recently appointed president, Dina Powell McCormick; Sanjay Mehrotra, CEO of computer memory maker Micron; Chuck Robbins, CEO of longtime telecom giant Cisco; and Cristiano Amon, CEO of semiconductor maker Qualcomm, according to a White House official.

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Virginia Democrats ask US supreme court to revive voter-approved electoral map

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New voting maps flipped four Republican-held seats to give Democrats an edge in redistricting race sparked by Trump

Virginia Democrats asked the US supreme court on Monday to revive a congressional map designed to boost their party’s chances in November’s midterm elections, turning to the court as Republicans – including allies of Donald Trump – seek to preserve narrow control of Congress.

The case thrusts Virginia into an unusual, mid-decade redistricting showdown, as courts weigh whether lawmakers can remake House districts outside the normal post-census cycle – with control of a narrowly divided Congress potentially hanging in the balance.

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Amazon halts sales of illegal high-speed ebikes in California after fatal crashes

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Recent consumer alert on ebike safety laws says some vehicles should be classified as mopeds or motorcycles

Amazon said it plans to stop selling certain high-speed electric bicycles in California after a string of high-profile incidents and a consumer alert that the state attorney general issued last month.

In April an 81-year-old man in Orange county died after a teenager illegally riding an e-motorcycle struck him. The teen’s mother, Tommi Jo Mejer, has since been charged with involuntary manslaughter in Ed Ashman’s death as officials say she was warned it was illegal for her son to operate the vehicle.

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